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The “Latin Phrases” table lists common Latin phrases including their English translations.
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| x name | x image | x Translation | x Original Language | x article |
| x A fortiori argument | "from the stronger" | Latin Language |
The Latin phrase argumentum a fortiori denotes "argument 'from [the] stronger [reason]'."
In the natural sciences and in social and other human sciences where statistics plays a large role, the phrase is used to mean "even more likely" or "with even...
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| "even more so" | ||||
| "with even stronger reason" | ||||
| x A priori and a posteriori |
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"from what comes before" | Latin Language |
The terms a priori ("from the former") and a posteriori ("from the latter") are used in philosophy (epistemology) to distinguish two types of knowledge, justifications or arguments. A priori knowledge or justification is independent of experience ...
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| "from what comes later" | ||||
| "before experience" | ||||
| "after experience" | ||||
| x Ab extra | "from without" | Latin Language |
Ab extra is a legal Latin term, approximately translating to "from without" or "from outside."
Concerning a case, a person may have received some funding from a 3rd party. This funding may have been considered Ab extra.
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| "from outside" | ||||
| x Ab initio | "from the beginning" | Latin Language |
The Latin term ab initio means from the beginning and is used in several contexts:
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| x Ab ovo | "the origin" | Latin Language |
Ab ovo (Latin: "from the beginning,the origin,the egg") is a reference to one of the twin eggs of Leda and Zeus disguised as a swan from which Helen was born. Had Leda not laid the egg, Helen would not have been born, so Paris could not have eloped...
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| "from the beginning" | ||||
| "the egg" | ||||
| x Ab urbe condita | "from the founding of the City (Rome)" | Latin Language |
Ab urbe condita (related with Anno Urbis Conditae: AUC or a.u.c. or a.u.) is Latin for "from the founding of the City (Rome)", traditionally set in 753 BC. It was used to identify the Roman year by a few Roman historians. Modern historians use it...
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| x Actus reus | "guilty act" | Latin Language |
Actus reus, sometimes called the external element or the objective element of a crime, is the Latin term for the "guilty act" which, when proved beyond a reasonable doubt in combination with the mens rea, "guilty mind", produces criminal liability...
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| x Ad astra | "to the stars" | Latin Language |
Ad astra is a Latin phrase meaning "to the stars". The phrase has its origin with Virgil, who wrote sic itur ad astra ("thus you shall go to the stars"; Aeneid book IX, line 641) and opta ardua pennis astra sequi, ("they choose hardship that follow...
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| x Ad captandum | "for capturing" | Latin Language |
In rhetoric an argument ad captandum, "for capturing" the gullibility of the naïve among the listeners or readers, is an unsound, specious argument, a kind of seductive casuistry. The longer form of the term is ad captandum vulgus (Latin, 'to win...
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| x Ad colligenda bona | "to collect the goods" | Latin Language |
Ad colligenda bona is a Latin phrase that approximately translates into "to collect the goods". In cases involving something quid pro quo, a prosecutor may be eligible for certain goods. Or, if specific items i.e. estate are unclaimable, the state...
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| x Ad fontes | "to the fountain" | Latin Language |
Ad fontes is a Latin expression which means "to the sources" (lit. "to the fountain"). The phrase epitomizes the renewed study of Greek and Latin classics in Renaissance humanism. Similarly, the Protestant Reformation called for renewed attention to...
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| "to the sources" | ||||
| x Ad hoc | "for this [purpose]" | Latin Language |
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means "for this [purpose]". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and which cannot be adapted to other purposes.
Common examples are organizations, committees,...
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| x Ad hominem |
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"argument to the man" | Latin Language |
An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin: "argument to the person" or "argument against the person") is an argument which links the validity of a premise to a characteristic or belief of a person advocating the premise.
The...
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| "argument against the man" | ||||
| x Ad honorem | "to the honor" | Latin Language |
Ad honorem is a Latin phrase that literally can be translated as "to the honor". When used today, it generally means "for the honor of"; that is, not seeking any material reward. It is commonly used in universities for some unpaid teaching positions....
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| "for the honor of" | ||||
| x Ad infinitum | "continue forever, without limit" | Latin Language |
Ad infinitum is a Latin phrase meaning "to infinity."
In context, it usually means "continue forever, without limit" and thus can be used to describe a non-terminating process, a non-terminating repeating process, or a set of instructions to be...
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| "to infinity" | ||||
| x Ad interim | "for an intervening time" | Latin Language |
The Latin phrase ad interim (often shortened to ad int) literally means "in the time between" denotes the meaning of "in the meantime", "for an intervening time" or "temporarily" in the English language. It also refers to a diplomatic officer who...
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| "in the time between" | ||||
| "temporarily" | ||||
| "in the meantime" | ||||
| x Ad libitum | "at one's pleasure" | Latin Language |
Ad libitum is Latin for "at [one's] pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun). The roughly synonymous phrase a bene placito ("at [one's] good pleasure") is less common but, in its...
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| x Ad litem | "for the proceeding" | Latin Language |
Ad litem is a term used in law to refer to a party appointed by a court to act in a lawsuit on behalf of another party—for instance, a child or an incapacitated adult—who is deemed incapable of representing him or herself. An individual who acts in...
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| "for the lawsuit" | ||||
| x Ad maiorem Dei gloriam |
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"For the greater glory of God" | Latin Language |
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam or ad majorem Dei gloriam (when an "i" functions as a consonant in Latin, it is often represented with a "j"), also known by the abbreviation AMDG, is the motto of the Society of Jesus, commonly referred to as "the Jesuits."...
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| x Ad nauseam | "[to the point of] nausea" | Latin Language |
Ad nauseam is a Latin term used to describe an argument which has been continuing "to [the point of] nausea". For example, the sentence "This topic has been discussed ad nauseam" signifies that the topic in question has been discussed extensively...
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| x Ad quod damnum | "According to the harm" | Latin Language |
Ad quod damnum or ad damnum is a Latin phrase meaning "According to the harm" or "appropriate to the harm." It is used in tort law as a measure of damage inflicted, and implying a remedy, if one exists, ought to correspond specifically and only to...
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| "appropiate to the harm" | ||||
| x Ad valorem tax | "according to value" | Latin Language |
An ad valorem tax (Latin for according to value) is a tax based on the value of real estate or personal property. It is more common than the opposite, a specific duty, or a tax based on the quantity of an item regardless of price.
An ad valorem tax...
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| x Ad vitam aut culpam | "for life or until fault" | Latin Language |
Ad vitam aut culpum is a Latin phrase found in Scots law which meaning "for life or until fault" which guarantees the right of a Sheriff Depute (judge) to hold office permanently or until they forfeit such by misconduct. The Heritable Jurisdictions...
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| x Adjournment sine die | "indefinitely" | Latin Language |
Adjournment ''sine die'' (from the Latin "without day") means " without assigning a day for a further meeting or hearing."; for an indefinite period to adjourn an assembly sine die. A legislative body adjourns sine die when it adjourns without...
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| "without any future date being designated for resumption" | ||||
| x Affidavit | "he has declared upon oath" | Latin Language |
An affidavit is a formal sworn statement of fact, signed by the author, who is called the affiant or deponent, and witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths. The...
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| x Agenda | "things [needing] to be done" | Latin Language |
An agenda is a list of meeting activities in the order in which they are to be taken up, beginning with the call to order and ending with adjournment. It usually includes one or more specific items of business to be considered. It may, but is not...
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| x Alma mater |
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"nourishing mother" | Latin Language |
Alma mater (pronounced 'ælmə 'meɪtə(r) in British English; usu. 'ɔlmə 'maːɾər in American English) is Latin for "nourishing mother". It was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, and in Medieval Christianity for the Virgin...
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| x Alter ego | "the other I" | Latin Language |
An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, a second personality or persona within a person. It was coined in the early nineteenth century when schizophrenia was first described by early psychologists. A person with an alter ego is said to...
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| x Amicus curiae | "friend of the court" | Latin Language |
Amicus curiae or amicus curiæ (plural amici curiae or amici curiæ respectively) is a legal Latin phrase, literally translated as "friend of the court", that refers to someone, not a party to a case, who volunteers to offer information on a point of...
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| x Amiterre legem terrae | "to lose the law of the land" | Latin Language |
Amittere legem terrae (literally, "to lose the law of the land") is a Latin phrase used in law, signifying the forfeiture of the right of swearing in any court or cause, or to become infamous.
Historically, this has been the punishment of champions...
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| x Amor fati | "love of one's fate" | Latin Language |
Amor fati is a Latin phrase coined by Nietzsche loosely translating to "love of fate" or "love of one's fate". It is used to describe an attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one's life, including suffering and loss, as good. That is...
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| "love of fate" | ||||
| x Animus nocendi | mind to harm | Latin Language |
In jurisprudence, Animus nocendi (Latin animus, "mind" + gerund of noceo, "to harm") is the subjective state of mind of the author of a crime, with reference to the exact knowledge of illegal content of his behaviour, and of its possible...
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| x Anno Domini |
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"in the year of (the/Our) Lord" | Latin Language |
Anno Domini (sometimes found in the irregular form Anno Domine), abbreviated as AD or A.D., and Before Christ, abbreviated as BC or B.C., are designations used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The calendar era to which they...
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| x Annum | "year" | Latin Language |
Annum is a form of the Latin noun annus meaning year, from which are derived words such as annual and annuity. Annum is the accusative singular of the 2nd declension masculine noun annus (nominative singular: this is the reference form of the word),...
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| x Annus horribilis | "horrible year" | Latin Language |
Annus horribilis is a Latin phrase meaning "horrible year". It alludes to annus mirabilis meaning "year of wonders".
Although cited by the Oxford English Dictionary as being in use as early as 1985, Queen Elizabeth II brought the phrase to...
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| x Annus mirabilis | "year of wonders" | Latin Language |
Annus mirabilis is a Latin phrase meaning "wonderful year" or "year of wonders" (or "year of miracles"). It was used originally to refer to the year 1666, but is today also used to refer to different years with events of major importance such as...
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| "wonderful year" | ||||
| x Antebellum |
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"before war" | Latin Language |
"Antebellum" is an expression derived from Latin that means "before war" (ante, "before," and bellum, "war").
In United States history and historiography, "antebellum" is commonly used, in lieu of "pre-Civil War," in reference to the period of...
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| x Aqua regia |
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"royal water" | Latin Language |
Aqua regia or aqua regis (Latin for royal water or king's water) is a highly corrosive, fuming yellow or red solution, also called nitro-hydrochloric acid. The mixture is formed by freshly mixing concentrated nitric acid and concentrated...
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| x Aqua vitae | "water of life" | Latin Language |
Aqua vitae (Latin, "water of life") is an archaic name for a concentrated aqueous solution of ethanol. The term was in wide used during the Middle Ages, although its origin is undoubtedly much earlier having been used by St Patrick and his fellow...
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| x Argentum album | "silver coin" | Latin Language |
Argentum album (Latin for "white money" or "silver coin"), mentioned in Domesday, signifies bullion, or silver uncoined. In those ancient days, such passed as money from one to another in payment.
Sumitur pro ipso hoc metallo pensili non signato....
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| "white money" | ||||
| x Ars longa, vita brevis | "life is short, art long" | Latin Language |
Ars longa, vita brevis is part of an aphorism by Ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, usually truncated to its first two statements: art is long, life is short. The full text in Latin is:
In this commonly found Latin translation, the first two...
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| "life is short" | ||||
| x Auctoritas |
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"authority" | Latin Language |
Auctoritas is a Latin word and is the origin of English "authority." While historically its use in English was restricted to discussions of the political history of Rome, the beginning of phenomenological philosophy in the twentieth century changed...
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| x Audemus jura nostra defendere |
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"We dare to maintain our rights" | Latin Language |
Audemus jura nostra defendere (Latin "We Dare To Defend Our Rights" or "We Dare To Maintain Our Rights") is the state motto of Alabama, depicted on a yellow ribbon below the coat of arms and completed in 1923.
Its original source is in lines of "An...
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| "We dare to defend our rights" | ||||
| x Audi alteram partem | "hear the other side" | Latin Language |
Audi alteram partem (or audiatur et altera pars) is a Latin phrase that means, literally, hear the other side. It is most often used to refer to the principle that no person should be judged without a fair hearing in which each party is given the...
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| x Ave Caesar morituri te salutant | "Hail, Caesar, those who are about to die salute you" | Latin Language |
Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant (lit. Hail, Caesar, those who are about to die salute you) is traditionally the Latin phrase that the gladiators addressed to the emperor before the beginning of a gladiatorial match. The first literary attestation...
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| x Bad faith | Bad faith | Latin Language |
Bad faith (Latin: mala fides) is a legal concept in which a malicious motive on the part of a party in a lawsuit undermines their case. It has an effect on the ability to maintain causes of action and obtain legal remedies. Generally speaking,...
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| x Bellum omnium contra omnes | "the war of all against all" | Latin Language |
Bellum omnium contra omnes, a Latin phrase meaning "the war of all against all", is the description that Thomas Hobbes gives to human existence in the state of nature thought experiment that he conducts in De Cive (1642) and Leviathan (1651).
In...
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| x Bona vacantia | "vacant goods" | Latin Language |
Bona vacantia (Latin for "ownerless goods") is a common law doctrine in the United Kingdom under which ownerless property passes by law to the Crown. It has largely replaced the doctrine of escheat, which had a similar effect in relation to feudal...
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| x Bookplate |
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"from the books of..." | Latin Language |
A bookplate, also known as ex-librīs [Latin, "from the books of..."], is usually a small print or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the inside front cover, to indicate its owner. Simple typographical bookplates are termed 'booklabels'....
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| x Bread and circuses | Bread and circuses | Latin Language |
"Bread and circuses" (or bread and games) (from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metaphor for handouts and petty amusements that politicians use to gain popular support, instead of gaining it through sound policy. The phrase is invoked not only to...
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| Bread and games | ||||
| x Burden of proof | Burden of proof | Latin Language |
The burden of proof (Latin: onus probandi) is the obligation to shift the assumed conclusion away from an oppositional opinion to one's own position. The burden of proof may only be fulfilled by evidence.
The burden of proof is often associated with...
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| x Cadit quaestio | "the question falls" | Latin Language |
Cadit quaestio, Latin for "the question falls," is a legal term used to indicate that a settlement to a dispute or issue has been reached, and is now resolved. In English, there is a similar idiom when people say that "the shoe has dropped."
In...
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| x Camera obscura |
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"veiled chamber" | Latin Language |
The camera obscura (Latin for "dark room"; "darkened chamber") is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The...
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| x Canes pugnaces | war dogs or fighting dogs | Latin Language |
Canes Pugnaces or Canis Pugnax (singular) is a Latin phrase, which means War Dogs or Fighting Dogs.
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| x Carpe diem |
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"seize the day" | Latin Language |
Carpe diem is a phrase from a Latin poem by Horace (See "Source" section below). It is popularly translated as "seize the day". The general definition of carpe is "pick, pluck, pluck off, gather" as in plucking, although Horace uses the word in the...
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| x Carthago delenda est |
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"Carthage must be destroyed" | Latin Language |
Carthago delenda est (English: "Carthage must be destroyed") or the fuller Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam or also Ceterum autem censeo, Carthaginem esse delendam (English: "Furthermore, I think Carthage must be destroyed") are Latin...
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| x Casus belli | "the justification for acts of war" | Latin Language |
Casus belli (pronounced /'keɪsəs 'bɛlaɪ/) is a Latin expression meaning the justification for acts of war. Casus means "incident", "rupture" or indeed "case", while belli means "of war". It is usually distinguished from casus foederis, with casus...
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| x Caveat emptor | "Let the buyer beware" | Latin Language |
Caveat emptor is Latin for "Let the buyer beware". Generally caveat emptor is the property law doctrine that controls the sale of real property after the date of closing.
Under the doctrine of caveat emptor, the buyer could not recover from the...
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| x Caveat lector | "Let the reader beware" | Latin Language |
Caveat lector is a Latin phrase meaning "Let the reader beware."
The phrase is used in written English in two distinct ways:
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| x Certiorari | "to be shown" | Latin Language |
Certiorari (pronounced /ˌsɜrʃ(i).əˈrɛ(ə)ri, -ˈrɛəraɪ, -ˈrɑri, ˌsɜrti.oʊˈrɑri/) is a legal term in Roman, English, and American law referring to a type of writ seeking judicial review. Certiorari ("to be more fully informed") is the present passive...
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